Aeon Legion: Labyrinth (45 page)

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Shani's loyalty did nothing to
sooth Terra's reservations. Doubts preoccupied Terra's mind even as
she walked into the armory. She wondered if the real reason this
bothered her was because she had begun to trust Alya. Then Lycus took
that away with a few simple words. He poisoned her with doubt after
she had fought so hard to remove it. No longer did she struggle with
failing the training, but instead with the consequences of success.

Terra moved to the back of the
armory and inspected the uniforms there. After a moment she found one
that fit well. After fitting a new uniform, she paused by the aeon
edge weapons lined up in a neat row. She glanced to her shieldwatch.

Twenty nine points. More than
enough as an aeon edge cost twenty five.

After hesitating, she spent
the points. There was no telling when the instructors would throw her
into a death trap that needed an aeon edge to make it out alive.
After a moment of browsing the various blades, Terra picked a
longsword class aeon edge.

The blade felt heavy and
looked dull with the lead weights on the sides. Terra also picked up
a few spare parts and a clip. After nodding to the guard, she paid
the points cost and left the armory.

Terra sighed, looking at the
sword with a tired expression. Everyone else had seemed pleased when
they received their aeon edge. She felt burdened by the heavy weight
and awkward handling. Then she dreaded all the maintenance required
to keep it in fighting condition.

Terra made her way to her
locker and stored her aeon edge. Then, still lost in thought, Terra
walked towards her dorm room. She wondered if she worked with
villains? What if the so called heroes of the Aeon Legion proved no
better than Hanns? Questions burned in her mind until she realized
she stood across from Lycus Cerberus's office.

Terra walked to the fadedoor.
After hesitating, she moved her hand to knock.

“Stop wasting my time, Tiro
Mason,” Lycus said before Terra's hand even touched the solid
fadedoor. “If you want something, then get in here and say it.”

The door faded and Terra
entered. Lycus sat at his desk, staring at a holoface projected above
the desk. The Captain's wing emblem Kalian mask lay on his desk to
the side. He spoke to someone through his shieldwatch while Terra
waited.

“Who was that, Cerberus?”
asked a voice on the other end. Terra thought it sounded like Orion.

“Just one of the tirones,”
Lycus said in a dismissive tone. “Also don't call me Cerberus.”

“Sorry, Lycus,” Orion
said.

Lycus sighed. “What did your
teams find, Orion?”

“A lot of nothing,
Cerberus,” Orion said after a moment.

Lycus growled at the name, but
didn't bother to correct Orion again.

Background noise sounded as
though Orion was busy on his end. “We reviewed the temporal data
and found nothing of interest. There was a little disruption, but not
enough to make us suspicious. If there was someone stalking around
the Academy, then they would have shown up unless they were a
Faceless or a null. Is this about Silverwind? You know I can't do
anything about that. She treats my orders more like amusing
suggestions and that's when she doesn't laugh in my face.”

“No,” Lycus said. “This
isn't about Silverwind. This is someone else. I know what I saw,
Orion. Whoever it is, they have been watching me for some time. I
dismissed the first few sightings, but they got close during the
survival test.”

Origin
chuckled. “Maybe the impossible has happened, Cerberus. You
finally
have a fan.”

Lycus scowled. “And I
thought you took security threats seriously, Orion?”

“I do, Cerberus,” Orion
said. “But I don't waste security on Legendary Blades who are
better than any security I could provide. Besides, I thought you
killed all your enemies. I didn't think you had enough surviving
enemies to take revenge on you. Please understand. I will not waste
time putting up antiquated security cameras. The temporal scanners
work against anything short of a Faceless or the Singularity Thief.
If someone tried something, then the Sybil's precog would have caught
it. Listen, I can assign a security detail from my cohort to search
the area if you wish. I don't want to though. I need every
legionnaire I can get mobilizing for well... you know.”

Lycus spared Terra a brief
glance. “Yes. I am aware. Fine. Keep your little black ops
soldiers. Once I catch whoever this intruder is, just remember that I
will gloat about doing your job.”

“Noted. Orion out,” Orion
said in a curt tone as the feed cut out.

“Tiro Mason,” Lycus said
as he leaned back into his chair. “Did you, at long last, come to
tell me that you are quitting?”

“Praetor. May I ask you a
question?” Terra said, standing at attention.

Lycus paused. “If this is
about what I said as the Captain then you shouldn't worry about it.”

“Was it true?” Terra
asked, still at attention. She realized the danger in pressing Lycus,
but she had to know. “Was that story true?”

Lycus studied Terra. “The
Captain is a character I imagined. He is a realistic representation
of what a surviving Kalian terrorist would be like. There is no known
active group of Kalian terrorists still at large. General Reva was
the most famous and powerful Kalian, but none have seen her since the
war. There is nothing left of their army but shadows and ghosts.
Their descendants lack their bloodthirsty nature. Worse things lurk
in Time. Plenty of criminals would gladly torture a legionnaire to
death even if they had nothing to gain from it. But you can rest easy
tonight, Tiro Mason. No Kalians will drag you out of the Academy to
torture you for access codes.”

“That's
not what I meant, praetor. I want to know if what
you
said was true?”

Lycus remained expressionless.
“Your specific interrogation called for moderate physical torture
followed by more advanced interrogation techniques. Your
psychological and physical profiles told us you have a high threshold
and tolerance for pain combined with a stubborn disposition. Physical
torture had low odds of success, but we still needed to test you
regardless. Your strong sense of justice and drive to be a heroine is
one of your greatest weaknesses. We exploited it for training
purposes as your enemies no doubt would.”

Terra relaxed. “Then it
wasn't true then? What you said about yourself and Alya.”

Lycus's stare turned cold.
“What I said was in character. If you want to know about what
Silverwind did in that war, then you should ask her yourself. It's
not my place to tell you.” Lycus turned away from Terra back to his
holoface.

Terra turned to leave.

“You know,” Lycus said
before Terra walked out of the fadedoor, “that photograph is
genuine.”

Terra turned to Lycus who
stared at his holoface. She then noticed the photograph on a shelf.
It depicted a father and mother holding a baby. The father was
dressed in a Kalian uniform.

“I found it on a soldier who
tried to defend a family that wasn't even his own. I guess he saw his
own family reflected in them,” Lycus said, staring off into
darkness. “He fought bravely.”

Terra remained silent.

Lycus turned his gaze to Terra
with a solemn look on his face. “During that war, a few of us
became legends. Some of us became monsters. You may have noticed that
I am very good at playing the villain. Now get out before I dock you
points.”

Terra left before Lycus made
good on his promise. She stopped halfway to her dorm room, looking at
the central fountain of the school's main hall. Was Lycus telling the
truth? She wanted to ask Alya about what had happened during that
war, but she wasn't sure that was a good idea. These were old wounds
that Terra wondered if she had any right to open again.

Terra made her way back to her
dormitory room as her thoughts wandered back to Alya's past. Lycus
had all but admitted to being a monster, though that didn't bother
her. She thought she understood Lycus. Of Alya, Terra felt less
certain.

Terra stopped when she looked
at her new uniform. She adjusted the sleeve a little after she looked
in a nearby window for her reflection. Then she checked if the rest
was straight. When she last got a new uniform, she had little time to
fit it properly before the next practice and had lost a point. She
stopped upon inspecting herself.

The Legion uniform always fit
tight. The sleek design denied the enemy of any useful grip during
hand to hand combat. She hated how it made her look though. It didn't
allow her to hide her weight like her old, loose fitting clothes did.
Now, though, she looked different.

Toned muscle had replaced her
pudginess. She still wasn't slender. Not lithe like Alya or scrawny
like Hikari. Muscled shoulders looked sharp in her new uniform and
her abdominal muscles appeared well defined. Her thighs had thinned
and tightened from daily exercise. There was not even a hint of a
hunch in her stance now as she stood straight backed.

Noticing these changes made
her decide that it didn't matter what Alya or Lycus was. She didn't
have to be a war criminal and she wouldn't become one. They couldn't
make her murder anyone in cold blood. Terra Mason was neither Alya
Silverwind nor Lycus Cerberus. Now she stood stronger and smarter
than she once was. Only she had the power to change herself.

That thought brought a smile
to her face for the first time in a long while. The more she thought
about it, the more things looked up. Hikari insulted everyone far
less now. They all trusted Zaid as he had formed them into a
competent strike team. Even Roland didn't get on her nerves as much.

She passed through another
hallway so lost in her good mood that she almost missed movement in
the corner of her eye. Terra stopped, her gaze sweeping the area as
she clinched her fists. Her eyes narrowed on a figure in black hiding
in the corridor ahead. Another hid behind her.

Terra bared her teeth while
moving into a defensive hand to hand stance. She had left her aeon
edge back at the armory. Terra opened her mouth to call for help when
two more figures dressed in black jumped next to her.

Terra Sped her reflexes with
the shieldwatch to dodge their blows. The two hiding around the
corners charged and Terra found herself surrounded. They all attacked
at once and Terra Sped time as fast as she could just to keep pace.

The intruders closed in,
gaining ground. Just before they surrounded Terra, they stopped and
backed away.

Terra braced herself, waiting
for the next attack.

One intruder pulled off his
mask, revealing himself to be Nikias. As the others did so too, Terra
recognized them as Academy centurions or optios.

Nikias moved a holoface in
front of him, checking off boxes. “Three points for your excellent
defensive moves. Two points for endurance since you didn't tire out
during the exercise. Minus one point for offense. You need to work on
that. Oh and you get a no points for observation since while you
spotted us early, you didn't notice the ambush we laid in the
ceiling. Looks like good marks overall.”

Terra raised a finger, but
could not form words. Instead she glared at Nikias with her nostrils
flaring.

Nikias smiled. “Good job.
Let's go test the next one.”

The institutors put on their
masks and walked away.

Terra stood in the hallway
alone for a long moment, her face contorted with rage. She clinched
her fists as she glared at the departing instructors. After a moment
she sighed before staring up at the ceiling. “I hate this place.”

I still remember that day
clearly. Alya marched Kairos in and presented her like a trophy.
Every centurion swooned over her. Qadar or no, I would have rejected
her without a second thought. Even with the other centurions praising
her talent. Even with Alya's so called connection with fate. One
thing stopped me. Kairos and I were alike in one way. Both of us were
utterly alone.

-From the personal logs of
Praetor Lycus Cerberus

T
erra
walked
down the halls of the Academy to the registrations office.
After a brutal training regime today, they had called her to a
meeting there. After changing her uniform and using her free Restore
for the day, she made her way down the halls.

She almost lost track of time
while at the Academy. Physical exercises had tapered off these past
few weeks along with the winter snows. But, academics had become more
demanding; historical warfare, post time warfare, advanced tactics,
and a long boring course on time travel physics all proved demanding.
The lesson on the Faceless had made her nauseous. Last week became
difficult when the centurions' instruction grew detail oriented with
every part of their training.